Broadcast News

Record Number Of Visitors Attend IBC

IBC2017 has announced a record number of visitors to this year's event at the RAI, Amsterdam. Taking place over six days, attendance was recorded at 57,669.

Visitors had opportunities to learn about the latest technologies – including social media TV, OTT, VR, AR, Cloud, IP, Bots and 5G – while robots were also on show, taking centre stage on the Sunday of IBC.

Throughout the 15 exhibition halls, there were new launches. The Launch Pad had a record number of exhibitors this year, while the Future Reality Theatre and Content Everywhere Hub free programmes were filled with diverse and new exciting content.

Conference delegates packed the Forum to hear from experts from Facebook, Google, CNN, HTC Viveport, Dolby, C4 and ITV to discuss and debate the hot topics challenging the industry with a focus on media convergence and global transformation.

On Sunday, 17 September, IBC welcomed robots Sophia and Professor Einstein™, the expressive, intelligent and exceptionally humanlike robots designed and created by Hanson Robotics Founder and Chief Executive, Dr David Hanson, Ph.D. Sophia responded to questions verbally and with complex facial expressions during the keynote session that covered both the technology and the ethics behind the advancement of robotics.

Elsewhere, the IP Showcase saw large audiences attend real-world demonstrations of proven IP end-to-end workflows for production and playout.

The Startup Forum held in association with Media Honeypot brought a new event structure, matching startups and scaleups with investors. Special guest HRH Prince Constantijn, who is championing the Dutch startup ecosystem, was in attendance. The invite only C-Tech Forum brought together senior executives from across the media landscape to discuss and debate two key issues affecting the industry: Cyber Security and 5G. The Forums generated conversations and networking on two of the most exciting, challenging and important stimulants to impact the industry.

Michael Crimp, Chief Executive, IBC, said: "IBC 2017 celebrated its 50th anniversary with record attendance, bustling exhibition halls, new features and a dynamic conference. Now we look to the future and continue that conversation via our online community IBC365."